wangxian yuri š«¶šŗ
The air was heavy around them. Suddenly there was a bright flash and a loud clap of thunder. Xiao Xingchen gasped in surprise beside him as Xue Yang felt a large droplet of water hit his cheek and trickle down. He looked up, only now noticing the dark clouds scudding across the night sky. Raindrops began to play a tinny tune on the stones around them, random notes here and there that began to blend as the patter of rain increased.
(...) Xue Yang wasnāt sure when Xiao Xingchenās hand had slid down from his forearm to his hand, but as they stumbled their way through the town and he guided Xiao Xingchen through the maze of coffins in their courtyard, he became aware that their fingers had slid together and they were gripping each other so tightly his fingers were becoming numb.
He didnāt quite know what to make of it, but also didnāt want to let go or draw Xiao Xingchenās attention to it, so he kept holding on tightly as he stepped over the high threshold into the house. He immediately turned and placed his left hand gently but firmly against Xiao Xingchenās chest to slow him down...
THIS is an excerpt from The taste of rain on skin, by @fieri-sentio-et-excrucior and with the incredible art by @wrathyforest, two amazing and talented artists whose work I recommend you all to check!!
I'm honoured to know such wonderful people and I wish nothing but the best to all of you. Keep writing, keep drawing, keep creating things that make me happy please! >w<
"friends don't look at each other like that" well okay you coward you do whatever you want however i WILL look at my friends like they're the most important thing in the world. i love them with my whole heart and i will hold their hand and stare at the stars not because i wanna fuck them but because they mean the world to me and i care about them. fuck you
time skip
a persona 4 velvet attendant!protag comic from 2 years ago! id enjoy seeing yosuke being the next wildcard and growing into the leader role he so admired
forgive the awkward dialogue i am not a good writer
i went there
i love this :)
(tw for self-harm. this is extremely self-indulgent. read at your own risk.)
Devil.
Her core, her soul, the very depth of her being, was a creature that had no right to see the light.
Usually, she could fight it. Usually, she could resist it. Usually, she could deny it.
But nighttime was when her demons were strongest, and she couldnāt always resist their allure. It was so easy to give into those voices, those whispers at the back of her mind that assured her that these actions were necessary for her survival. The devil inside of her had kept her alive for this long, so why would it ever try to deceive her now?
Nevertheless, as Rika looked down at the blood welling on her soft, thin, porcelain skin, she slowly came to realize that for once, her devil might have grown a little too strong.
A sharp wail escaped her lips, and the offender dropped from her hand to the floor with a clatter. She immediately clamped her free hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her cries. She couldnāt, shouldnāt, wouldnāt accept this. She could brush it off. She could pretend it never happened.
She hadnāt ever imagined that her devil would take a tangible form, but it had left a kiss on her wrist that she couldnāt ignore.
āRika?ā
A voice sounded from outside the bathroom door, followed by a sharp knock. The sound managed to strike Rikaās core, piercing even through her foggy mind and her shaky body. Hastily, the blonde ran her hands underneath the sink, eager to wash away the evidence. Rinse, rinse⦠Maybe a splash of soap, to ensure she was effectively clean. She needed to scrub away the darkness that she tried so desperately to keep hidden.
But as she pumped the soap onto her tender skin, the stinging that resulted made her whimper despite herself.
āRika?ā the voice called again, a little more frantically this time. āItās me, V. Are you okay?ā
Rika began to scramble through the drawers and cabinets, knowing that somewhere, somehow, the couple must have had a first aid kit in here. V was cautiousāalmost overly soāand every time that Rika complained she felt ill, whether it was a physical or emotional pain, her lover always seemed to be able to withdraw some sort of medicine to soothe her, some sort of bandage to patch her up.
She usually refused, not wanting to mess with her mind or body in the slightest, but for once, she was willing to accept the fact that she needed assistance. Normally, she wanted to keep that devil alive and well, strong enough to defend her from whatever the world may throw at her.
This time, though, that savior inside her had betrayed her, and she needed to bring it back within her power.
āRika!ā
āI-I-I⦠I needā¦ā She tried to sputter out some words, some sort of answer to V to let him know that she was alive and well.
Was she really well, though?
ā⦠a m-m-moment,ā she stammered at last. She thought the sentence came from her, anyway; that voice sounded like it belonged to her, but in her dazed mind and through her ringing ears, pounding with the vibrations of her intense heartbeat, it felt so far away, as though it were coming from somewhere else.
V didnāt respond to that; he fell silent, finally, and all that Rika could hear was a soft exhale. He must have been relieved that she had answered, as distorted and shaky as it was, and so he was willing to give her the space she needed until she was ready once again. He was always so considerate of her, always trying to appease her darkness and bathe her in a glowing light.
Normally, her devil resented that light, that glow, that searing heat⦠but Rika, for once, was grateful to know the sun was right outside her door, ready to banish away the demons that had overpowered her.
A little bit of pressure was all it took to stop the bleeding, and finally Rika allowed herself to crack the door open. She waved at him with her dominant hand, keeping the other one tucked behind her back. āI⦠I saw a bug.ā Some womanās voice was trying to excuse the shrieking that had taken place, and deep down, Rika knew that this feeble fib would never convince him. She wanted to be hopeful, though. She didnāt want anyoneānot even Vāto know the extent of her struggles.
But as Vās minty gaze flickered to her hidden hand, to the razor on the floor, and finally to the swelling around the young womanās eyes, he looked as though heād managed to piece together exactly what had taken place in here.
āItās okay.ā
How could two simple words break her down?
Rika at once leaned forward and buried her face in his chest, sniffling and sobbing. Her tears were soaking into his shirt, but he didnāt seem to mind. The young man just ran a hand through her soft curls and pulled her in at the waist, massaging little circles into the small of her back. āYou donāt have to be strong for me, Rika.ā
With a whimper, she lifted her head and gazed up at him with tearful emerald eyes. āI⦠She⦠Iā¦ā Who should she blame? Was this the doing of Rika, or of⦠something else entirely?
No, this was Rika. This was a part of her that she tried so desperately to keep hidden. The part of her that V had tried to kill, time and time again, by trying to force her to expose it and unravel it.
But right now, Rika was willing to throw herself into his arms, if only to hear the words she so desperately needed to hear.
āI love you, Rika. Nothing you do will ever change that.ā
Could she trust his words?
At this moment, did she have a choice?
āLet me see.ā
Immediately Rika leaped back, cowering away from him, clutching her wound in her good hand and turning away so that he couldnāt get even a glimpse. āItās fineā¦ā she murmured, but as she removed her hand from her wrist and saw the little specks of blood that splattered her fingertips, she couldnāt fight back the sob that followed.
āAntibacterial cream and bandages,ā V suggested softly, his voice barely above a whisper. āWe have some in here.ā
The blue-haired young man withdrew a small tube of ointment and a box of bandages from one of the drawers, and Rika cursed herself silently for not being able to find them sooner. Begrudgingly, she held her arm out to him, and upon seeing the subtle raise of his eyebrows and the softening of his gaze, she felt tears begin to brim along the corners of her eyes again.
āV, you need to promise me something,ā she whispered as he began to rub the ointment into her skin. The pressure against her wound made her flinch, but she bit her lip and tried to keep herself steady. āYou wonāt tell anyone, especially not the RFA. Not even Jumin.ā
Concern and doubt flickered across his eyes, but V nodded slowly. āYou donāt want them to see you like this,ā he guessed.
āIām their sun, V.ā
āSometimes thereās a solar eclipse, Rika.ā
Their silence coated the air for a moment as V gently stuck the bandage onto her wrist, careful to ensure he could cover the entirety of her injury. It was small, but significant. It was dainty, but deep.
Rika couldnāt fight back the gasp that slowly seeped out of her lungs as her lover gently applied his lips to the surface of the bandage. āYou are my sun,ā he whispered as he pulled back, and he gently took her hand in both of his. āNothing you do will make me stop seeking your light.ā
Light⦠even like this? Was there any light in her at all?
āI donāt understand you,ā she grumbled. āI donāt understand how you could love a devil like me.ā
āIām not asking you to understand,ā he told her simply. āIām asking you to trust me.ā
With a nod of her head and a dull ache in her chest,
Rika leaned into Vās warm, comforting embrace.
With the power of love, and after a quick rest,
Maybe, her demons she would be able to face.
pfp creds nitoenjoyer on xā ąØą§multifandom + jus appreciating art here:)18+ stuff here, you have been worned
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